Europeans not too keen on Cyprus

ONLY 42 per cent of European Union citizens interviewed in a survey want Cyprus to join the bloc.

The EU poll, carried out last autumn, drew up a popularity table for 13 prospective EU countries. Cyprus was ranked a meagre fourth.

The most avid Cypriot supporters were the Greeks – of whom 88 per cent interviewed thought Cyprus should join.

The least enthusiastic were the French and Germans, of whom only 32 per cent favoured the island’s membership.

Malta was the most popular choice, with 49 per cent of the total poll in favour of its candidacy.

Turkey was the least popular choice, with only 30 per cent of those asked wanting it in the EU.

Germany, home to millions of Turkish immigrants, was particularly hostile towards Ankara’s EU bid. Only one in five Germans said they would welcome the Turks.

The Irish were the most friendly to Ankara, with 44 per cent in favour of Turkey’s membership.

Hungary was the people’s second choice, supported by 47 per cent of the respondents. Poland was in third place, backed by 44 per cent.

Preference aside, only 43 per cent of EU citizens said they were in favour of a widening of the European Union.

But this is up one per cent on a previous survey carried out in the spring of 1999.

The nationalities most in favour of expansion were the Swedish who polled 62 per cent, the Danish 60 per cent and the Greeks 57 per cent. The three least in favour were the Germans with 38 per cent, the Austrians with 35 per cent and the French, 34 per cent.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.